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Journalism of Courage
The Hard Talk BBC World show came to India and hopefully Tim Sebastian enjoyed the salubrious beauty of Srinagar. If, indeed, he was enchanted he didn8217;t let it show. In interviews with Mehbooba Mufti and Umar Mirwaiz Farooq, he remained stern and terse and very insistent. That8217;s part of his technique, the mask of his persona.
Sebastian8217;s achievement was to reveal Mehbooba8217;s pliancy and Farooq8217;s obduracy. This he achieved in a number of ways: Sebastian pursues, essentially, one line of attack: with Mehbooba it was her party8217;s approach to governance, with Farooq his demand for an independent Kashmir. Unsmilingly, he asked the same question 8211; short, sharp, staccato 8211; in six different ways hoping to catch his guest napping. Neither Mehbooba nor Farooq fully escaped the trap but they were not ensnared either. Brevity is his brief: Sebastian fits in anything between 40-50 questions with up to 90 of his queries barely a sentence and a half short. Consequently, the guest does most of the talking.
Also, Hard Talk has no commercial breaks and this allows Sebastian to pursue his line of questioning with smooth continuity. The momentum of Indian TV interviews are constantly disrupted by ad-breaks.
Mufti did well: soft-spoken, charming, lively but with strength of purpose, she spoke eloquently even though her 8216;8216;healing touch8217;8217; may have sounded somewhat ironic after a week of violence. However, she wasn8217;t intimidated by Sebastian8217;s demeanour or questions and held firm to her government8217;s 8216;8216;human face8217;8217;. Farooq was equally stubborn and polite in his insistence that Kashmir needed a separate peace but he was far too poker-faced for good TV.
The quality of Sebastian8217;s questions could be better 8211; or worse 8211; but we can learn from him the art of TV talking. Our anchors or interviewers prefer the sound of their own voices and opinions. Their questions may be more pertinent than Sebastian8217;s but get lost in the maze of their eloquence. It8217;s as if they need to prove that they know everything when we don8217;t expect it of them. Often, they are embroiled in disputes with the guests: high pitched interruptions, simultaneous voices, incomprehension8230; It8217;s not that Sebastian is more well-informed or asks harder questions. Just that he8217;s more accomplished.
Rape dominates the media. Each day a new and more bizarre case is brought to our horrified notice. What has increased 8211; rape or media attention? Hard to say. Aaj Tak8217;s Thursday story on the alleged rape of a teacher of St.Peter8217;s College in Agra by senior students was perplexing. Had a rape occurred? The local police were unusually reticent and didn8217;t know if clues existed. Still, said SSP Sahib, he was seeking evidence. Surely the teacher had it?
Media concern has made rape a national issue. However, some grey areas exist in the coverage: increasingly, the identities of the 8216;victim8217;, her family are broadcast, barely after the incident. All TV channels do it. Previously, Star News revealed a young married victim8217;s home in Mumbai, talked to her neighbours; in the Dehra Dun R.K. Sharma 8216;rape8217; case, Aaj Tak interviewed the 8216;victim8217;, her husband8230; A few weeks ago, Zee News showed a 14-year old girl, allegedly raped and incarcerated for 20 months by her 8216;rapist8217;. There were interviews with the girl behind an easily discernible mosaic and her mother. How does this benefit anyone 8211; the victim or the public? Meanwhile, the 8216;assailants8217; barely receive a dishonourable mention. Why not expose them, explore what drives them to such crimes? Perhaps negative publicity can help dissuade prospective rapists?
The shoot-out at Jammu8217;s Raghunath Temple: TV news revealed the extraordinary chaos that prevailed: security men and officials rushing to and fro frantically, generally looking helpless and bemused. Did not inspire confidence.
Aaj Tak8217;s early 8216;Live8217; coverage showed people rushing about in broad daylight which made you think the attack began in the afternoon. The attack took place after dark approximately 7 p.m.. In all probability, the footage belonged to the March incident at the temple. In which case, they should have said so.
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